Missouri Class
Initially just a concept design never intended for production, the combat debut of the Romulan War Eagle Class in 2286 caused such panic that three Missouris were laid down to act as flagships for Starfleet Heavy Battlegroups. Although tactically inflexible, she survived the post-Khitomer fleet changes due to her being one of the few classes in service able to face Romulan and Klingon Battleships in combat. Development The development of Battleships for Starfleet dates back to the turn of the 23rd Century. Starfleet had never fielded Battleships: the last design of that designation had served with the UESN during the Earth-Romulan War. The first (partially) successful attempt at building a Battleship for Starfleet came in 2235 in the guise of the Siegfried Class. By this point, Photon Torpedo technology had progressed to the point where it was considered a reliable weapon, and Starfleet designs no longer carried back-up Missiles. Warp core and nacelle technology had also progressed to the point that a ship of her size and design planform could reach reasonable speeds. The Siegfried Class was designed around a single main gun, the 'Kaminari' Type I Phaser Cannon. In testing, this weapon failed spectacularly, and after killing several high ranking Federation representatives, was eventually redesigned and rebuilt into the operational 'Kaminari' Type II Phaser Cannon. This weapon proved overweight and underpowered, and 8 of the 12 Siegfried Class ships left in service were modified in 2242 and had their 'Kaminari' Type II Phaser Cannons removed, being reclassified as Battlecruisers (the first of the type in Starfleet). They were finally retired in 2245 when sufficient number of Constitution Class ships had entered service. The next attempt was the Federation Class. From the outset the design was marred with political compromises, and an additional problem was the requirement that the design also be capable of scientific, exploratory and even diplomatic missions, which burdened down the already large ship with science labs, survey equipment, function rooms and even an arboretum. Of course, none of this was any use in a combat situation. Despite the use of many Standard A series components, the design and production of the Federation Class still took many years, and the USS Federation (NCC-2100) did not leave dry dock on her shakedown cruise until 2264. Despite the programmes initiated in the light of the failure of the Federation Class, nothing serviceable had come to fruition by the time the Organian Conflict broke out in 2285. The supposed replacement for the Federation Class, the Langley Class Battleship, had proven to be a technological dead end, taking so long to enter service that she was approaching obsolescence before the prototype was off the slipway. Indeed, the situation was so dire that despite all her failings, at least one Federation Class, the USS Confederation (NCC-2114), was used during the V'Ger Incident in 2271, albeit kept out of harms way. The outbreak of the Organian Conflict in 2285 did much to highlight the urgency of the need for a Capital Ship in Starfleet. There was simply no way that the Federation Class could be sent into battle against the latest Klingon designs, and the Langley Class Battleships were too few and too slow to be of any use. The first year of the war was a desperate battle of attrition, taking a terrible toll on Starfleet personnel, especially in Destroyer Flotillas. By the opening months of 2286, in a remarkably short time, the Ulysses Class had entered service. She was a well-rounded Capital Ship, not exceptional but the right ship at the right time. She could also best the majority of Klingon warships encountered, and could be constructed relatively easily. Scant months later though, the game changed again. The Romulan Star Empire entered the Organian Conflict in a stunning offensive known as the "Day of the Eagle". The core strength around which the offensive was built was a gigantic new warship, the War Eagle Class. Although few in number, she was larger and more heavily armed than anything Starfleet could field against her. Starfleet fell back, and for several weeks it looked as if the Federation might fall. Then came an unexpected respite; The Romulan Star Navy stopped. Despite their best efforts, their supply lines were stretched to breaking point and their ships too short ranged to continue their offensive. Battle damaged and in need of resupply, crew changes and essential maintenance, even the mighty War Eagles were vulnerable, and after two were destroyed in a short space of time by Starfleet Destroyer Flotillas, their air of invulnerability soon faded. Never the less, Starfleet was spooked. Starfleet Intelligence had had no information on the existence of the War Eagle Class, and a vessel of such size and power had only ever been a conceptual study in the Federation. Then the politicians got involved, blaming Starfleet for being incompetent and unprepared to face the Romulans, and "short-sighted" in not having a comparable Battleship to the War Eagle. It is worth nothing that these, by and large, were the same politicians that had criticised the original plans for the Federation Class as "too provocative" and "overly military". Now however, they demanded to know what Starfleet was going to do to keep their homes safe from invasion by "vastly superior" Romulan forces. The only ship Starfleet possessed even approaching the size of the War Eagle Class was the experimental Langley Class, and this was a technological league behind the Romulan design. Any battle between the two would be a Pyrrhic victory at best. Another approach was needed. Designers at the Antares Yards had been working on a super-heavy Battleship concept for some time, purely as an exercise into discovering what could be done. They had come from a slightly odd starting point, namely that of hull and shield strength rather than spaceworthiness. The unusual design of the Missouri Class, as she eventually came to be known, was based around creating a shape that was strongest and most able to resist combat damage. This ethos was extended to the point of having the Secondary Weapons Array recessed deep into the saucer section, the impulse drive similarly protected at the rear. The warp nacelles were fixed directly to the ships hull, a testament itself to the strength of the design (most ships have pylon mounted nacelles to reduce stress on the spaceframe when engaging warp drive), and also keeping the overall silhouette of the massive ship as small as possible. Finally the shuttle bay was a recess underneath the primary hull, protected from all sides. A number of details were changed before the Missouri was taken from a theoretical design study to a seriously considered starship. The warp nacelles were redesigned and became essentially larger, heavier versions of the E-II Types used on the Excelsior Class. Provision was made for the fitting of a QCB Projector, a brand new weapon at the time given to the Federation by their Gorn allies, and the shuttlebay slightly modified to enable the deployment of an extra Wasp Attack Shuttle, bringing the ships complement up to three. Construction began in the closing months of 2286, and by the middle of 2287, production of two more hulls had been started. The lead ship, the USS Missouri (NCC-2463), entering service in 2288. Operational History The USS Missouri (NCC-2463) was immediately taken into service, wartime conditions leaving no time for a shakedown cruise. Her Engineering Crews were heard to comment that when issues did arise, as they invariably do on a brand new ship, her spacious jefferies tubes and generous backup systems made repairs easy. Her modular, austere design may have made repairs easy, but they did not make for a particularly pleasant living environment. Sleeping quarters on the Missouri took the form of small, cramped cabins for the Officers, and bunkrooms for the Other Ranks. Recreational facilities were basic, with the most popular physical activity being timed runs around the outer corridor of the saucer section. The Missouri was certainly a ship designed for a singular purpose; the destruction of enemy Capital Ships. During her service in the Organian Conflict however, the Missouri was found to be useful in other roles. Her formidable torpedo armament made her very adept at planetary bombardment and the destruction of enemy installations. The major planetary assaults of the war were aided greatly by the power of the Missouri, but this did take her away from her primary mission as a flagship. Her two sisters, the USS New Jersey (NCC-2462) and the USS Wisconsin (NCC-2464) were not completed until the opening months of the War of Pacification. Seeing heavy combat in the conflict that followed, the Wisconsin actually fought in a joint task force alongside two Romulan War Eagle Class ships. The irony was not lost upon her crew. Construction of further Missouris continued with some speed, although some in Starfleet said that greater numbers of smaller ships such as the Excelsior Class or Ulysses Class would be a better use of resources. By the interbellum of 2291, a further three were in service with another four on the slipways. Construction on one of those four, the USS South Dakota (NCC-2457) was halted temporarily in that year to provide shipyard space for the new Yamato Class. She remained incomplete by the war's end. Apocrypha The Missouri, whilst exceptionally powerful, was a ship designed for a singular purpose. She had no place in a peacetime Starfleet, although the final ship, the partially completed USS South Dakota (NCC-2457) was finally launched in 2294. The class was maintained, although most were deactivated and placed in "suspended animation" in 2301, as they were simply too expensive to warrant keeping on active service. With the withdrawal of the Romulan Star Empire from galactic affairs after the Tomed Incident of 2311, the final active vessels were retired, the last being deactivated permanently in 2315. Specifications * Class: 'Battleship * 'Hull Type Designation: '''FBB * '''Length: 717m * Crew: 1190 * Warp Nacelles: '''3 * '''Maximum Sublight Speed: 2850 k/s (28.5 Mk/s) * Cruise Warp Factor Speed: wf 6.9 * Safe Maximum Warp Factor Speed: wf 8.9 * Hull Rating: '900 HSF * 'Shield Rating: 1850 FSP * Sensor Rating: 800 SRU * Armament and Equipment: ** Primary *** 6 × Type B Phaser Emitter ** Secondary *** 6 × Mark VII Photon Torpedo Tube ** Heavy *** None ** Advanced *** Quantum Carrier-Wave Beam Projector (QCB) ** Equipment *** Tractor Beam Emitter *** Mark VI Probes *** 3 × Wasp Attack Shuttle Ships in Service (2292) USS West Virginia (NCC-2448) USS North Carolina (NCC-2455) USS Indiana (NCC-2458) USS Massachusetts (NCC-2459) USS Alabama (NCC-2460) USS Iowa (NCC-2461) USS New Jersey (NCC-2462) USS Missouri (NCC-2463) USS Wisconsin (NCC-2464) Category:Federation Vessels Category:Battleships